Tag Archives: old radio

1946 Zenith 6-D-029 Consoltone Antique Radio Repair

Posted on April 7, 2014 by jwk

This was a very interesting Zenith tabletop radio from just after WW2, the 1946 Zenith 6-D-029 Consoltone mantle radio. This is one of the iconic “boomerang” dials Zenith produced for a couple of years after the war. A variety of … Continue reading →

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1948 Motorola 99-FM21 Console Radio Back to Life

Posted on December 23, 2013 by jwk

I recently had the chance to work on this beautiful Motorola 99-FM21 from 1948, currently owned by the granddaughter of its original owner. It’s been in the family since its purchase new in 1948 and was lovingly cared for the … Continue reading →

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Overloaded 1931 Transformer [Fried Electronics]

Posted on June 7, 2013 by jwk

I’m working on a 1930/31 Westinghouse WR-8 Columnaire clock-radio which had a bad transformer. The filter capacitors failed and shorted the high-voltage secondary, burning it open and causing a lot of heat and melting.   The replacement is a General … Continue reading →

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Depression-Era Radio: 1934 Grunow 460 Tombstone

Posted on January 24, 2013 by jwk

I’ve had this Grunow 460 sitting in my queue pending for a little while and it’s finally on it’s way home looking great! There was a fun extra bit of detective work to identify and solve the issues that came … Continue reading →

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1937 Grunow 588 Radio Repair

Posted on March 3, 2012 by jwk

I finally had a free day with no major commitments and was able to finally get some work done on my projects – it’s been a productive day. I picked up this nice example of a Grunow 588 “Teledial” radio … Continue reading →

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What’s that piece of wire, some kind of gimmick? [Mailbag]

Posted on January 17, 2012 by jwk

I was talking with a fellow antique radio hobbyist on the phone the other day about a repair he was working on. A TrueTone battery radio, he’d taken care of all the important steps – checking out the tubes, replacing … Continue reading →

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1942 GE LF-116 Radio Repair Part 2 – Tool Prep

Posted on October 9, 2011 by jwk

Part of a continuing series on restoring this radio:  Part 1 – History and First Looks Part 2 – Tool Prep Part 3 – Capacitor Can Rebuild Part 4 – Capacitors and Socket Replacement  Part 5 – Finished! I’m continuing … Continue reading →

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1942 GE LF-116 Radio Repair Part 1 – History and First Looks

Posted on October 6, 2011 by jwk

Part of a continuing series: Part 1 – History and First Looks Part 2 – Tool Prep Part 3 – Capacitor Can Rebuild Part 4 – Capacitors and Socket Replacement  Part 5 – Finished! I’ve had a GE LF-116 radio … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Projects, Radios and Tubes, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1953 Hallicrafters 8R40 Repair

Posted on September 17, 2011 by jwk

This radio came from an electronics recycler, it’s the Hallicrafters 8R40. It looked like it had been stored very well, had all the tubes, the dial strings intact, no rust to speak of and not even very much dust. This … Continue reading →

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Antique Radio in “Firefly” Episode 2

Posted on February 7, 2011 by jwk

I was watching Firefly the other day, and noticed something interesting. Firefly is set in the year 2517 centered around a small smuggling ship named Serenity manned by a crew of mercenaries, former freedom fighters, a pair of escaped convicts, … Continue reading →

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